Friday, September 17, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer(NaturalNews) Nature is full of various herbs and spices that protect
against disease and even treat and cure it. And according to Chris
Kilham, an ethnobotanist and Fox News’ "Medicine Hunter", turmeric root
— also known in its extract form as curcumin — is one such powerful
spice that appears to both prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and
even cure it.

"People who develop Alzheimer’s disease get a
sticky plaque in the brain called amyloid beta," explained Kilham to
Dr. Manny Alvarez in a recent Fox News interview. Such plaques either develop as a result of Alzheimer’s, or they are the direct cause of it. But either way, they are directly related to the degenerative process.

However studies show that turmeric
actually eliminates these plaques, both when they are first starting to
form and even during the late stages of their advancement.

"What
we have in turmeric is something that appears to inhibit the
development of Alzheimer’s disease…and actually help to reduce the
occurrence of plaque in the brain
if you have it," noted Kilham. "We know in animal studies, when animals
actually have amyloid beta plaque in their brains and they’re given
turmeric root…that plaque is reduced."

Observational studies have also shown that people groups who eat large amounts of turmeric virtually never get Alzheimer’s.

"In countries where people consume a lot of [turmeric], there’s a very low incidence of Alzheimer’s disease," emphasized Kilham. "In India and Southeast Asia, it’s a rare disease. And [in the U.S.] it’s very, very common."

According to Kilham, drug companies are hard at work trying to develop drug versions of turmeric, but he recommends eating real turmeric whenever possible, and taking turmeric extract supplements if eating the spice in food is not an option.

"A
challenge that we face is that drug companies…can’t patent turmeric
root," he said. "So they will continue to try to develop something
else. [But] eating turmeric, eating its extracts…appears to be
protective against one of the most horrific and debilitating diseases
we know."